The Orphans (Orphans Trilogy Book 1) (24 page)

Antony realized that just because JP said he would handle it himself didn’t mean he had any intention of fighting him. JP had something else planned. Antony’s eyes darted, searching for the two remaining Beasts. Were they part of the plan? No. Antony found them almost immediately. They hadn’t moved an inch, only he and JP had.

It dawned on Antony that he had literally walked right into JP’s trap. They had both shuffled halfway around their imaginary circle, and he was now standing where JP had stood when they started. He remembered watching JP as they began their little dance, and he knew that no more than twenty feet behind him was an old fashioned gas station and a handful of fuel pumps.

The grin on JP’s face grew along with the fireball on the tip of his staff. The flames reflected off of his eager eyes.

Antony dove out of the way as the fireball shot from JP’s staff and whizzed past him.

The fireball collided with one of the fuel pumps. The explosion sent gasoline-charged flames shooting a hundred feet into the air, and sent Antony flying ten times further than his legs had been able to.

Antony’s body skidded down the street, coming to a stop just before JP’s feet. “Well, that was fun,” JP said with a smile. He nodded to the Beast with the gray beard. “Tie him up with the others.”

CHAPTER FORTY

“Naomi, Naomi, Naomi,
” JP said as he clutched her jaw in his hand, controlling her gaze to keep it locked on him.

Naomi remained silently defiant. She, Eddie, and Antony were each bound to their own metal support beams, which collectively held up the small porch roof that covered the loading platform of the train station.

Standing ten feet from the orphans were JP’s three most trusted Beasts, each of them paired up, while the last two holdover Beasts waited off to the side, further behind them.

“Leave her alone,” Antony ordered.

“Quiet,” JP said, glaring at Antony, who was all the way at the other end. “You aren’t in a position to be making demands. But don’t worry, I’ll get to you shortly.” He turned back to Naomi, running the back of his free hand down her cheek as she fought to crane her head. “We could’ve had something special, but I was just too afraid you’d hurt me.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I can’t believe you actually fell for that routine. You really are damaged goods. I could tell that within a minute of meeting you. Unfortunately for you, history only repeated itself. I’d apologize for ruining you for other guys if it wasn’t for the fact that no other guy will even get the chance.”

Naomi didn’t respond verbally. She just cleared all the saliva from the back of her throat and hocked it on JP, nailing him in the forehead.

“No!” JP screamed, staggering backwards with his hand blocking his face. “You got me in the third eye.” He snickered as he steadied himself and lowered his hand. He wiped his head with his sleeve, and then sidled up next to the Beast of Southeast Asian descent, who was standing opposite Naomi. “As much as I may have hurt you, Naomi, I promise that my friend Saloth”—JP smirked as he patted the Beast on the back—“is gonna make that seem like nothing.”

Naomi fought against her restraints.

Saloth’s mouth lifted at the corners, and his eyebrows rose above his sunglasses. It was evident that he was taking the utmost pleasure in watching Naomi struggle.

JP smirked as he moved on to his next captive. “Eddie.”

Eddie said nothing.

“You’re so quiet all of a sudden,” JP said. “This isn’t like you at all. Don’t you wanna tell me how you’re gonna kill me? I swore that’s what you said you were gonna do?”

Eddie remained silent.

“I don’t know if this interests you,” JP said, “but you’re not very far from where Malika was when she died.”

Eddie had to bite his lip to keep from screaming.

JP noted the gesture and nodded to himself. He could tell he was getting to Eddie, he just needed to push a little harder. He patted the mustachioed Beast on the back. The Beast’s face was as stern as they come. He exuded much more power than his 5’8” frame should.

“This is Joseph,” JP said. “He’s really been like a father to me. And since you never had a father, I figured the two of you might get along.”

JP’s dig hit deep enough that Eddie was no longer able to control himself. “Screw you!” Eddie shouted, his face turning beet-red as his swelling emotions took over.

JP smiled from ear to ear.

“Breathe,” Antony reminded Eddie. He had realized what was going on and knew exactly what JP was up to. “He’s just trying to get you angry. He needs you to doubt yourself. Repeat the serenity mantra.”

JP clapped his hands together and held them to his lips in feigned excitement. He tiptoed toward Antony. “Serenity mantra? That sounds so interesting. I didn’t know I missed a lesson. Maybe one of you can teach me.”

Antony didn’t respond.

“No? You’re not gonna teach me?” JP said. “I guess I probably don’t need it, anyway. I also don’t need to get you to doubt yourselves. You do already. Sticking with the father theme”—JP put both of his hands on the bearded Beast’s shoulders and gave them a couple firm squeezes—“this is my friend Leopold. He’s the one that I told you about. He’s best buddies with your father.”

“He says hi,” Leopold said with a half smirk to go along with his deep Belgian accent.

Antony didn’t react to either of their words or Leopold’s devious grin. He wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction or the power to alter his mind. Instead, Antony concentrated on everything he had learned. He reminded himself to stay present and to release any negativity and doubt as it entered his mind, and then he recited the serenity mantra in his head.

“Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping to get more out of you,” JP sighed. “But I guess I’ll have to settle for that. Of course, we’re still short one person before we can destroy the drive.” He retrieved the drive from his pocket and twirled it in his fingers. “Do any of you happen to know where our good friend Charlie is? We can’t start without him.”

The orphans said nothing.

“Are you guys giving me the silent treatment?” JP said. He paced in front of the orphans as he tossed the flash drive to himself. “Don’t you all think that’s a little immature?” JP stopped and studied the looks on the orphans’ faces. “If you guys aren’t gonna talk, I guess I’ll just have to see if I can reach him myself. I’m sure he’s not too far away.”

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Charlie hadn’t moved from his perch on the hilltop. He had spent his first few minutes of solitude considering ways to speed up his healing process. Years ago, while doing research for a paper, he had read about people who had successfully healed themselves using only their minds, curing ailments as minor as common colds and as major as cancer. Charlie was certain that he could do the same. He could cure himself. After all, the placebo effect was proof of this phenomenon. Charlie wasn’t positive how he would pull it off or how long it might take, but he figured his best bet would be using all of the lessons that he had learned to strengthen his mind and applying them to his body.

Charlie had been in the middle of attempting to release his physical pain and envisioning his wounds healing when he was distracted by the sudden bursts of light exploding from the tiny downtown. At first, he had no idea what he was witnessing, but with each successive eruption, he grew more and more confident that they were a good thing. One, two, all the way to twenty-eight, he had counted. And then the flares came to an abrupt stop.

Ten minutes had passed. Charlie knew that, assuming they had been successful, his friends should have returned already. With each fleeting second, he couldn’t help but begin to worry. Charlie repeated the serenity mantra to calm himself. He exhaled deeply and returned his attention to healing his body, only to be interrupted seconds later by a vibration in his pocket.

Charlie retrieved JP’s cell phone from his pocket and hesitantly swiped the cracked screen, answering the call, which went straight to speakerphone.

“Charlie, buddy, where are you?” JP said. “I thought we had a deal.”

Charlie frantically fumbled to turn down the volume, knowing that the sound could easily carry at this time of night and not wanting to give up his location. Charlie whispered back, “I’m not gonna tell you where I am.”

“Why the hell are you so quiet? I can barely hear you.”

Charlie wasn’t about to answer JP’s question, but that didn’t stop JP from figuring it out, anyway.

“Ohhh,” JP chortled. “You must be really close, then. That’s good. Why don’t you come join us? We can get the whole band back together.”

Going off of JP’s words and cockiness, Charlie already knew the answer to his next question, but he had to ask it, anyway. “You have Antony and Eddie?”

“Of course I do. You guys couldn’t have actually thought your plan, or lack thereof, was really gonna work, did you?”

Charlie had, and now he didn’t know what to say.

JP continued, “Don’t worry. It’s not all bad news for you. I’ll be honest with you, Charlie, I think you’re completely worthless.”

“Thanks for the honesty,” Charlie replied sarcastically.

“You’re very welcome. But that’s not the good news. The good news for you is that my opinion matters much less than my superiors’ right now, and I have to defer to them. One of these people in particular, for one reason or another, happens to be your biggest fan. Apparently, he sees a lot of himself in you. I don’t, but he does.”

Charlie knew JP was referring to Terry.

“Anyway,” JP sighed, “he’d prefer to make a deal with you.”

“What kind of deal?” Charlie said.

“You remember the revised contract, right?”

“Yeah.”

“All you gotta do is sign it. That’s it. Plain and simple.”

“I don’t believe you. It’s just another trap.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Charlie. I wouldn’t need any kind of trap to take you down. I’d just do it. But like I said, I have to defer. Which is why I have the contract in my pocket. The only thing it’s missing is your signature.”

“If I sign it, my parents’ souls will be freed?”

“Walter’s, too. That’s what it says.”

Charlie took a moment to consider all of his options and their likely outcomes. The answer should have been easy. He couldn’t sign it. He had decided that the first time he was faced with this decision; however, he was in a much worse position than the first time. That time, only his life was on the line; now there were three more lives hanging in the balance.

Charlie heard Antony scream over the phone, “Don’t do it!” Next came a loud thud, like a boxing glove pounding a heavy bag, followed by Antony moaning in extreme agony.

“Don’t listen to him,” JP said. “You’re a big boy. You can make your own big boy decisions.”

“What happens to the others?” Charlie said.

“You saw what happened to your grandfather.”

“The only way I’ll sign it is if you let all of them go, too,” Charlie said. He didn’t want to sign the contract, but if it saved his parents and his friends, he would have to. He had gotten them into this mess, and it was his responsibility to get them out of it.

“No!” Naomi screamed before being silenced.

“That’s not part of the deal,” JP said.

“Then make it part of the deal,” Charlie demanded.

“Whoa! Somebody ring the tough guy alarm,” JP said. “Unfortunately, it’s non-negotiable.”

“Then there’s no way I’m signing it.”

“Good. Very good,” JP said, genuinely content. “That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear. You’ve just made your bed, which happens to be a coffin. And now I can’t wait to watch you lie in it.”

The line went dead.

Charlie’s mind raced. He hadn’t expected the negotiations to end so abruptly. Had he played his cards wrong, and in doing so, doomed himself, his parents, and his friends? There was no way to know for sure, and no way of going back. All Charlie knew was that time was running out if he was going to save his friends and most likely himself. He wasn’t dealing with minutes or hours. All he had was seconds.

Charlie reminded himself to try to control what he could control. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let go of the doubt that had recently arisen, and then focused all of his thoughts on the present and on getting better. As Charlie squeezed his eyes even harder, concentrating all of his energy, a faint golden light began to emanate around the outer edges of the scab on his wrist. The radiance grew and grew as it enveloped the wound.

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JP approached the two holdover Beasts. He pointed to a faint sparkle up on the hill where Charlie was holed up. “See that little light? It’s the cell phone. He’s up there. Bring him to me alive. And don’t screw it up this time.”

The two Beasts took off.

JP clasped his hands behind his back and casually strolled over to the group. “And now the fun begins,” he exclaimed. He nodded to Saloth, Joseph, and Leopold. “They’re all yours. Bon appétit, my friends!”

The three Beasts removed their sunglasses in unison. Their eyes pulsed with bright orange flames. They slowly crept in on the tied-up orphans and dropped do to one knee, getting eye to eye.

“As long as you believe in yourself, they can’t hurt you,” Antony reminded the others. “Eliminate any doubt.”

“That’s great in theory,” JP said, “but much harder in practice. I doubt”—JP giggled as he stressed the word—“my friends will have a hard time finding yours.”

Antony shook off JP’s snide remark and stared right into Leopold’s eyes, challenging him. He saw the sparks shooting across his corneas like cobalt solar flares exploding from the sun. He repeated the serenity mantra to himself to keep his mind calm.

Eddie craned his neck to avoid eye contact.

Joseph grasped Eddie by the temples and yanked his skull straight ahead. Their eyes locked.

Eddie smiled through the pain. “I’m not an optometrist,” he said, “but you might wanna get that checked out. It could be astigmatism.”

Joseph’s eyes pulsed brighter, like a freshly stoked fire.

“Seriously,” Eddie said. “It’s not normal.”

Chills shot down Naomi’s back and goose bumps popped up on her arms and legs as Saloth ran his hand through her hair. She tried to remember everything she had been taught, but all she could think about was that this was all her fault. If only she wouldn’t have followed JP, they wouldn’t be there. The regret and blame continued to swell up insider her before turning into anger. With one hole popped in the dam, many others soon followed.

Saloth grinned. He could see Naomi’s anger morphing into doubt. He leaned closer and peered deep into her eyes.

Naomi felt a tinge of pain in the center of her brow. The more attention she gave the pain, the sharper it got. More pins added to the prick in bunches, until it became too much for her to take. She screamed in tortuous pain.

“One down, two to go,” JP excitedly proclaimed.